Ross's Turaco
Tauraco rossae
Spectacular purple turaco with a yellow bill and face and a puffy red crest. Shows large crimson wing patches in flight. Found along forest edge, and in gallery forest and lush gardens. Acts like a typical turaco, bouncing through the trees, and flying occasionally with short bursts of wingbeats and long glides. Call is a low, up-and-down trill that is often given in raucous chorus by a group. Similar to Violet Turaco, but minimal overlap in range, and Ross’s is easily separated by its red crest and yellow bill.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tauraco rossae
- Authority
- (Gould, 1852)
- Order
- Musophagiformes
- Family
- Musophagidae
- Genus
- Tauraco
Range and habitat
This bird is mostly found in woodlands, open forest and riparian habitats in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. They generally avoid heavily forested areas and their numbers remain strong despite the threat of habitat destruction due to agriculture expansion. These birds are non-migrating and rarely travel far from their birthplace, but will travel if food is not abundant in their immediate area.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Solomons Corella
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